Former Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry secretary Adam Fennessy was paid close to one million dollars on leaving the job three years early. Photo: Supplied.
Adam Fennessy was handed an almost $900,000 golden handshake for leaving his role as Agriculture Department secretary three years sooner than he was contracted for.
Mr Fennessy started as Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) on 18 September 2023 for a five-year term.
But two years later (almost to the day), Federal Agriculture Minister Julie Collins announced the secretary would be finishing up on 26 September 2025.
A Senate Estimates hearing this week (8 October) confirmed that the now former secretary had left the government’s employ and revealed Mr Fennessy was paid a massive $899,620 upon his exit.
That is equivalent to one year of his salary, excluding superannuation.
DAFF’s acting secretary, Justine Saunders, told the hearing Mr Fennessy was paid in accordance with “ordinary rules” at the termination of an early contract.
But she would not say if her former boss was fired or left of his own accord.
“For personal privacy reasons, we don’t wish to go into the specifics,” Ms Saunders said.
“Both the Minister and Mr Adam Fennessy, on his departure, made very clear that Mr Fennessy left under amicable circumstances.”
She added that changes in executive roles across government departments were common and regular.
However, Nationals Senator Matt Canavan wanted to know if Mr Fennessy had been fired, particularly as it appears his payout was made under a Public Service Act clause specifically dealing with the termination of department heads.
Assistant Agriculture Minister Anthony Chisholm chimed in to say it was the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, and not DAFF itself, that dealt with Mr Fennessy’s position.
“They’re not issues that we were directly involved with,” Senator Chisholm said.
“I don’t think it’s helpful to speculate, particularly when we are talking about an individual that has been impacted by this.”
During his brief tenure at the head of DAFF, Mr Fennessy oversaw the rejection of an application to re-export more than 15,000 sheep and cattle to the Middle East via the Cape of Good Hope after a vessel carrying the animals was forced to return to Australia due to Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.
He had also expressed concern about Australia’s biosecurity laws, specifically regarding new strains of bird flu.
He also led an ongoing shake-up of the department to enhance capability and return the agency to a more sustainable financial footing.
“I would like to thank Mr Fennessy for his service to the government as Secretary of DAFF,” Ms Collins said in a brief statement in September.
“Mr Fennessy came into DAFF at a transitional time and has worked hard to stabilise the department.
“This includes improving DAFF’s finances, continuing to strengthen our world-class biosecurity system and expanding trade opportunities for Australia’s farmers and producers.”
Mr Fennessy had previously served as the secretary of the Victorian Department of Environment and Primary Industries and then that state’s Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning.
He was awarded a Public Service Medal in 2018 in recognition of his outstanding public service to government departments in Victoria, and served as the Victorian Public Service Commissioner between 2020 and 2022.
At the time of his appointment to DAFF, Mr Fennessy was the dean and chief executive officer of the Australia and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG), headquartered in Melbourne.
Established in 2002, ANZSOG presents ‘thought leadership’ and research for governments and public administration in collaboration with university partners.
In July this year, Mr Fennessy was appointed as the new president of IPAA ACT, a branch of the Institute of Public Administration Australia (IPAA).
